A Trip to the Beach.
Water in all its many places and moods--trickling stream to lake to ocean--is a constant subject for me. One of the most mutable substances for an artist to study, it can reflect any color and take any shape. It can be the subject of a work or a simple background effect. I haven't managed to render nearly as many waterscapes as I would like, but have attempted to portray a wide range of its possibilities.
I've separated out my images of lakes and oceans for portrayal here.
Click on any image to see an enlarged version.
Atlantic Sunrise
Pastel; IMAGE SIZE: 23" x 17"; 1994, Sold
I saw the ocean for the first time when I was 30, and was completely overwhelmed with all the sights and sounds of the area. This scene is the beach on Assateague Island, VA, on a foggy September morning. At first, I could only hear the waves and not see them, then the sun rose high enough above the fog to light the scene in rich gold.
Change of Season
Pastel; IMAGE SIZE: 11" x 18"; 1994, Sold
Also on the beach at Assateague Island, the weather suddenly changed from a hot, sultry late September afternoon to a brisk autumn evening with the approach of a storm. The storm's approach was almost frightening, as if someone was throwing a blanket over the ocean and land and suddenly the wind changed, the waves surged, and all the colors changed. I tried to capture the moment of change, with the upper sky still blue with puffy clouds moving down past the incoming cloud and the beach, now in browns in the sudden darkness.
Evening Dock
Watercolor; IMAGE SIZE: 24" x 12"; 1994, $550.00 matted and framed
That stillness, that odd pink light of a sultry evening on the bay. The beachhouses along the dock looked so puny and unprotected under that huge sky and the reflected bay all around them.
Evening on the Beach
Watercolor; IMAGE SIZE: 4" x 6"; 2000, $100.00 matted and framed
Another work inspired by the beach at Assateague Island, I wanted to capture the changing sunlight on that late summer evening.
In for the Evening
Ink with watercolor wash; IMAGE SIZE: 10" x 12"; 1993, Sold
Those fishing boats are pretty complicated pieces of equipment, and all the lines and wires silhouetted against the evening sky just spoke of a pen and ink drawing.
Kawai Waves
Pastel; IMAGE SIZE: 27" x 9"; 1995, Sold
I didn't make it to Hawaii, but my niece did, and brought back a package of pictures for me. I could nearly hear the waves crashing in the photograph, and even though I had never been there, tried my best to capture the fading light and the movement of the water.
Serenity
Pastel; IMAGE SIZE: 16" x 6"; 1999, $200.00 matted and framed
This sailboat drifted lazily for hours on the calm waters of Lake Arthur in Western Pennsylvania. As the August afternoon tended toward evening, the sky began to grow pink and the shadows darkened and lengthened, and the serene moment seemed to last for hours
Silent Lake
Pastel; IMAGE SIZE: 10" x 7"; 1999, $250.00 matted and framed
The sunset struggled through a broken cloud cover for about an hour and a half, providing an ever-changing light show as it changed color and sent rays of light down to the lake in random patterns. The lake, so still and quiet and dark, had such presence, and seemed like a solid land mass instead of a fluid body.
The Incessance of Waves
Pastel; IMAGE SIZE: 7" x 10"; 1999, $300.00 matted and framed
Another work from North East, PA, the color of the lake on that rainy morning and the constant movement back and forth as it crashed against the rocks, then folded back on itself kept me mesmerized for quite a while.
Following a Gull Down the Beach
MEDIUM: Pastel; image sizes vary, all are sold but are available as prints and notecards.
I like to brag to my still-deskbound former co-workers that some days my job is to follow a gull down the beach and sketch him as he goes. Unlike other wild creatures, they don't care if you walk right up to them. These sketches are from Presque Isle in Erie, Pennsylvania. I only got to do that once, but it was great fun and I may need to do it again some time!
